


Uphill

by KateKintail



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Promptember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 15:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20584946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KateKintail/pseuds/KateKintail
Summary: Jayd'n is nearly to the top of the mountain.





	Uphill

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 9 of Promptember 2019

One step. Then another. The muscles in his legs ached each time he asked them to do more work. And the pain in the soles of his feet were so intense that each time he picked one up, he didn’t even have an instant of relief because his other foot cried out, supporting all his weight. It was almost easier to distribute his weight evenly between them and shuffle forward, but he couldn’t do that, not with the roots and brambles and rocks in his way. Cutting a path through the thick foliage had been a battle equal to those he had faced against orcs or bandits. 

The only thing that kept Jayd’n going at this point was the knowledge that he was almost to the top of the mountain. The guild would not have given him this assignment as a test if it had been easy, but he had still considered quitting a hundred times over. It wouldn’t be so bad, he had told himself. He would simply go back to the monks and live with them, caring for and protecting the nearby villages. He would still have a purpose. An abysmally boring purpose. 

No, as much as he might complain about it, he much preferred being out from behind the monastery walls. There was adventure and conflict out here. There was the mystery of the unknown and being the first to find something miraculous and magical. There was the possibility of getting all those questions about where he had come from finally answered. Yes, there were also people and airships and annoyingly tall mountains out here, but he was up for the challenge. 

The path he was on began to level out and the trees began to thin. His heart raced. He’d been climbing this mountain for weeks and finally—finally—he was at the top. As soon as he was at the tallest point, he was sure he would be treated to a breathtaking view of the land beyond the mountain. Perhaps he would even be able to see as far as the coastline. His fingers itched to get out his sketch pencils and parchment to begin mapping it all. There would be calculations to run and geographic marvels to represent. He could sit and map the expanse for hours or even days if he so choose. 

As the trees in front of his parted, he hurried forward with the very last of his energy, ignoring the red hot pains in his feet and legs and back and neck. He was ready to make his cartographers guild proud. 

But all he saw, as he looked out at what lay beyond the great mountain was another mountain. It was smaller, so he hadn’t even known it was there, but it was big enough to block his line of sight. He couldn’t see a single useful thing to map apart from this new mountain. 

With a cry, he let his legs give out on him and sank to his knees. His palms met the dirt and cheek brushed nearby foliage. He bent over, trying to catch his breath, trying to center himself, trying to reassure himself that he really could manage one more long climb. 

At least, there was downhill stretch before he had to head back uphill again.


End file.
